My life is pretty normal. I go to school, have a decent education, have friends and a caring family. But my days were flipped upside down as something sudden took control of my life. And it all started with a normal school day.
I walked down the path on the side of the street. Music from a recently popular artist poured through the earphones stuffed in my ears, drowning out the noise of chatting from everyday people and cars passing by. Noisy pop music came from a clothing store across from the street and an argument broke out outside a store where a man was trying to take a bike. I paid no attention though, instead I continued to walk and listen to my music. I turned down multiple paths, passing houses and shops and apartment buildings. My usual route to school. And of course, I stopped by my friend's house- a small apartment building halfway to the school.
"Hey!" I called to Evan, my friend as he exited the building quickly. Evan was my childhood friend since primary school, and we had shared many memories together. Our families were extremely close, and my parents often helped his parents with financial support. "Hey," he waved as he half-jogged down the path towards me. He had blonde hair with his fringe pushed to the right messily. His bronze eyes seemed to glimmer slightly in the winter sunshine. He wore the school uniform- a black, gold trimmed blazer with a white collared shirt and black tie with golden edges.
I took out the earphones, muting the music and stuffing them in my pocket so that I could talk to Evan without the distraction of music.
"Did you do the homework?" He asked me suddenly.
"Yeah, it was really difficult though. I probably got most of it wrong," I responded to his question promptly. Our mathematics homework was always the hardest, most kids got less than 50% on them.
"Yeah right, you get 90% or above on every singe homework and test. You don't have to worry about anything,"
"One time I got a 70%," I corrected him jokingly, causing him to nudge me.
"David will probably get a 10%," Evan said, chuckling. We continued to chat on the way, talking about our weekend and us meeting up next weekend like we had yesterday. After another ten minutes of walking we turned a corner, bringing the school into view.
It was a large school with three buildings: the academy, where all the classes are, and then the two dorms. The dorms are free for anyone to move in from the age of fifteen and over. They were mostly empty but one of my friends, a girl called Elaina lives there. She often talks of how dirty the corridors are from being unkept by the cleaners and how it feels like a ghost building.
We entered the school, walking down the corridors towards our first lesson. Students stood idle in the corridors, talking with friends, checking homework or simply just on their phones. It was strangely peaceful for such a busy environment. Of course, until we reached our first lesson- maths.
I pushed open the door and stepped inside. Our classmates were chatting, just like those in the corridors, talking about their weekends and stuff that happened during them.
A small crowd had formed around a desk at the front- David's desk. He was in our small friend group and was quite popular, but not for a good reason. "You were really cool when you punched him!"
"Can I get your number?"
"Can I be your friend?"
David was the 'troublemaker' kid. It appears that over the weekend he had gotten into a fight again. "Oh, my friends! Sorry, I have to go," David stood up and rushed over to us, a look of fear on his face. "Get me away from all of these people," He whispered, following us over to the left side of the classroom where my desk was, right next to a window. The sunlight drifted through the window, painting the desks a crisp orange colour.
"Who'd you fight this time?" Evan asked, sitting down at the desk behind mine.
"Don't jump to conclusions!" David barked, leaning against the desk just next to mine. He scratched his messy dark brown hair, pushing his fringe from covering his eyes. He had brown eyes that matched his hair and a blank expression, as it was just another school day. "Some first year, he threw an apple at me," He told us.
"Is that really a good reason to beat some little kid up?" I asked, raising a brow at his confession.
"Well it wasn't just that. He punched first, right in the balls-"
"Okay, that's enough of that," A new person entered our conversation, cutting David off. Erin slapped her book down on Evan's desk, eyebrows furrowed in disgust. "Do you boys talk about anything other than that?" She asked, disgusted.
"No, David was just explaining what caused him to beat up some kid," I told her honestly, not wanting her to get angry. Erin was another of our childhood friends. She had shoulder-length messy brown hair with her fringe reaching the top of her eyes which were a light blue colour. She wore the school uniform with a black skirt with golden vertical stripes decorating it.
"Hm? You beat up another kid? Tell me, who was it? Was it that Matt dude from the other class? He makes my blood boil," She growled, shivered before sitting on the desk next to Evan's.
"Nah, just some kid," David responded with a dull expression.
"Ah. That's boring-" The door flew open and the teacher stepped in. The class instantly went silent and David rushed to his seat. Erin was a bit late to catch on that the teacher was here, and only noticed when the entire class was staring at her whilst she still talked. Finally, she sat down at her desk on the other side of the classroom, allowing the teacher to begin the class.
"Ahem. Greetings, class. Today we're going to be revising for the Winter exams," He told us. He was the oldest teacher in the school, not including the head teacher, and walked with a limp on his right leg. He was balding with strands of grey hair barely clinging on to the top of his head. "But first, please place your homework on your desks. I will be going through them during this lesson and you will get your mark next week. Oh, and of course. More homework!" He seemed extremely excited about the homework, but when it was being passed around the classroom it just turned out to be more normal homework.
"Mhmm..." David murmured something under his breath which the teacher somehow caught.
"You may begin your self-study. Please place your homework set last week on my desk whilst I have a chat with Mr. Larion here," He gestured towards David to follow him, which resulted in a groan and a slow, sad walk out of the classroom.
We began to get on with our self-studies, chatting between ourselves during the revision. David and the teacher came back in after a couple minutes, prompting the class to become silent again from his sheer presence. Teachers are scary.
More time passed. We were halfway through the lesson when the door burst in and a girl stepped in. She had white blonde hair that was tied into two ponytail that trailed down her back and wore the school uniform with the skirt. Her eyes dashed around the classroom before they met with the teacher.
"Ah, Miss Rockford. It'd appear you're late," the teacher spun his desk chair around to face her and crossed his arms, frowning at her and furrowing his brows.
"My alarm was late! Yes! My alarm! No! Wait yes! I forgot to set my alarm! I'm sorry I'm late!" Her face went bright red as she moved to the back of the classroom. Her words were jumbled, and she looked sleepy as she sat down, as if about to fall right asleep. How strange. But we continued the class anyways, chuckling between ourselves about her late appearance to class as the day continued like normal. But, of course, I wouldn't be telling you all this if something interesting didn't happen.
The speakers crackled in the classroom as a woman's voice came through.
"Please may the following five students head down to the headmaster's office: Evan Bright, David Larion, Elaina Rockford, Erin Roma and Rio Fate. I repeat, these following students head down to the headmaster's office: Evan Bright, David Larion, Elaina Rockford, Erin Roma and Rio Fate. Thank you," Her voice cut off as the faces of our classmates looked towards us.
"What'd I do now?" David moaned, slamming his head on the desk. The five of us childhood friends left the classroom, walking down the empty and silent corridors to the headmaster's office. The only noises were our footsteps and David's moaning about how it was unfair.
"What do you think is happening?" I asked Erin who seemed to be staring into space, deep in thought.
"Dunno, maybe they want to ask us questions about David beating up a kid?" She said playfully, shrugging and smiling.
"They would bring us one at a time if that was the case," David pushed himself into our conversation after hearing the theory about him.
"What do you think it is then?" I asked David, hoping he'd have an idea- any idea. Normally people were only called to the headmaster's office for three reasons: You did something terrible, you witnessed somebody doing something terrible, or you're doing a task for a teacher. And I was none of these. Well except maybe a witness.
"Maybe he wants to give us an award?" David suggested, imagining himself with a golden trophy.
"An award for what?" I asked him.
"It's just a theory," David shrugged.
"A terrible theory. My guess is it's something to do with you,"
"Hey, come on, I'm not that bad-"
The door to a classroom we were passing flew open with a loud bang and a teacher stepped out furiously, face red and fists clenched. She bared her fangs and let out a mighty roar.
"WILL YOU LOT SHUT UP? YOU'RE MAKING SUCH LOUD NOISE OUTSIDE MY WORKING CLASSROOM. LEAVE!" She screamed in fury. It reminded me of something I watched where the teacher was a devil. Or were they working at fast food? I don't remember.
We froze in our tracks at this sudden outburst before the teacher slammed the door shut, leaving us in hysterical. We laughed as we continued out journey to the office, reaching it finally.
The ominous, dull wooden door gave off a menacing vibe, as if the boss of a video game was standing behind it, ready to attack anybody who entered. Or maybe it was a trap? It gave me chills thinking of what would happen to us once we stepped inside. But there was only one way to find out what truly was inside, waiting for us.
"Well, let's go," I placed my hand on the door handle and pushed the door open, stepping in to face the devil himself.